Phila. faces down state, passes gun law

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:

City Council unanimously passed eight long-delayed gun control bills yesterday, deliberately picking a fight with lawmakers in Harrisburg who have consistently refused to give Philadelphia the right to enact its own gun laws.

In addition, Council will soon file a lawsuit in Common Pleas Court against the General Assembly to win the city the authority it needs to legally pass its own firearms legislation, said Councilman Darrell Clarke, who cosponsored the bills with Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller.

"It's utterly ridiculous where we are right now. It's an aberration when somebody doesn't get killed," Clarke said. "We can't wait any longer."

Among other controls, the bills would limit gun purchases to one a month and would require gun owners to promptly report lost or stolen firearms.

Just what happens next - with this legally questionable legislation - isn't clear. Before the Council meeting, Councilman James F. Kenney asked: "What would they do, arrest us?"

Some people like a monopoly on guns.